MAPP Blog

Support for men’s health and wellbeing is critical at all stages of the lifespan but at the peak age for entering fatherhood, from the late 20s and across the 30s, it is particularly important. This is a high-risk period for stress, workplace pressures and family struggles for all men, with and without children. This is one of the key messages delivered in MAPP’s response to the draft National Men’s Health Strategy for 2020-2030. Find out more in MAPP’s December 2018 newsletter.

This year MAPP has collaborated with researchers from across the country to learn more about dads and their sleep (or lack of it!). With the Australian fatherhood Research Consortium (AFRC), we are examining how well fathers sleep, how well their children sleep and links with fathers’ mental health. The first job has been to review all the previously completed research. We are evaluating how robust the existing evidence is and if there are gaps that still need to be researched. Spoiler alert! Surprisingly there are very few studies on dads and their sleep. So, MAPP has joined forces with three other large Australian projects to investigate links between fathers’ sleep problems and stress, anxiety and depression. We will share our findings widely in 2019 to ensure government, services and workplaces are well-informed to support our sleep-deprived dads.

This blog post is from the MAPP Newsletter - December 2018. You can read the full newsletter here.

The idea new fathers could have mental health issues related to the birth may seem odd. But there is increasing evidence men experience postnatal mental health and adjustment issues that deserve attention. MAPP investigators, Dr Jacqui Macdonald, Deakin University, and Associate Professor Richard Fletcher, University of Newcastle, and Professor Louise Newman from the University of Melbourne put the case for screening fathers for mental health problems. Read their article published in The Conversation.

MAPP is taking on a new look to encompass our full research program. Our website is the hub for MAPP-5 - our longitudinal study of men at the peak age for fatherhood - as well as our qualitative projects. We'll soon be launching an international MAPP study, and we have many plans for furthering our understanding of men and family life. Stay tuned.